


Morning Apples

by chaosfay



Series: Random Gifts Trades and One Shots [11]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Baking, Cooking, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-15
Updated: 2015-06-15
Packaged: 2018-04-04 11:38:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4136028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaosfay/pseuds/chaosfay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kilastra Trevelyan can't fall back to sleep, haunted by nightmares that leave her with too much tension.  The morning work in the Skyhold's kitchen chases away the fear, and is soon replaced with laughter when Cullen joins in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Morning Apples

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tragicamente](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tragicamente/gifts).



> My half of a fic trade.

Kilastra couldn’t sleep. Too many dreams, too many nightmares. The war was over, or as much as it could be, but she was still haunted by the memories. Cullen understood, but he was asleep in their bed. Waking him up seemed unfair when he had such a difficult time sleeping as it is.

The kitchen was a comforting place for her. Even in these early hours the kitchen was awake, preparing the morning meal for the keep. Thankfully no one questioned her presence in there anymore. It had become something of a private ritual. Nightmares wake her and to the kitchen she goes.

Two of the cooks worked on the bread this morning, the others tending to the various other things the many occupants ate. Without saying a word she took up kneading some dough. All aggression and fear melted away as she worked, focused singularly on what she was doing. The tension melted away, replaced with a feeling of accomplishment.

Noticing the bowl of dried dates on the table Kilastra added it to the bread. Cullen would like that with his sweet tooth and all. Ah, cinnamon to balance it out, a pinch of nutmeg, a little extra sugar. Now to let it rise, and find something else to do. Looking around she saw one of the bakers peeling apples. A fresh crate of the granny smith apples arrived yesterday; perfect for a pie.

She became so focused, so lost in her work, the sounds of the kitchen melted into a background noise. The scent of the morning work enveloped her like a warm blanket, taking away the fear she felt upon waking. Kilastra failed to notice Cullen had entered the kitchen. The chatter of the cooks and bakers were soon mixed with giggling and laughter. She didn’t notice as she peeled yet another apple, handing it off to who she thought was a cook until she touched the hand. That brought her back to the present as she jumped in surprise.

“Why do you insist on sneaking up on me like that?” Kilastra set the peeling knife down, laughing as the moment of panic faded.

“I could ask the same about not waking me up when you can’t fall back to sleep.” He kissed the top of her head before cutting and slicing the apple.

“It would be cruel of me to do that when you’re not thrashing around. I didn’t want to take you from peaceful sleep. Besides, I like being in here in the morning.” She smiled at the two girls giggling as they set the loaves of bread up for the oven.

“Though I appreciate the gesture,” he dumped the slices into the bowl next to him before grabbing another and peeling it, “I don’t mind holding you until you fall back to sleep.”

Kilastra grinned, doing her best to match Cullen’s pace with the peeling. “I could say much the same about waking up to an empty bed.”

“Yes, well, you need sleep more than I do. Dealing with nobles, passing judgement, handling the mischief known as Sera…” Cullen set the peelings aside and began slicing. “At this pace I’ll have two pies set up before you finish that apple.”

“Oh, will you now? I’ll accept that challenge, Commander.” Indeed she did pick up the pace. Neither of them noticed the audience they had, or bets being made.

Apple after apple, slice, peel, next one. The bowl filled up, replaced with an empty one. Bets grew as the match started proving even. Another filled bowl replaced with the freshly emptied one. At this rate there wouldn’t be just apple pies, but no one cared. This was far more entertaining.

“It appears we’re out of applies, love.” Cullen set his knife down just as Kilastra finished slicing her final apple. “It also appears I’ve won this challenge.”

She tried grimacing, but failed as she fell into a fit of giggles. “I think a few of the cooks just became richer. What should we do about this?”

“I think I should take my winnings and get out while ahead.”

“Oh, you don’t want to take up another challenge? Afraid I’ll beat you?”

“No, I don’t want to leave the other cooks without a copper to spare.”

“Spoilsport.” That’s when she noticed the monstrously large pile of apple peelings. “What about the peelings? Should we do something about those?”

“Mia used to make a treat out them. Here, I’ll show you.” He approached one of the cooks, an elderly woman, and spoke quietly with her. Several minutes passed as she instructed a couple boys to set things up while she grabbed a bowl and mixed a few things in it. Handing it off to Cullen she went continued with whatever it was he had told her to do.

“Okay, what’s the mystery?” Kilastra asked as she set the bowl between them.

“It’s cinnamon and sugar. Slice the peels into thin strips, roll them around in the mix, and set them down here.” A large flat pan was set next to him. “Trust me when I say this will be delicious.”

Raising a brow, “I had no idea you were a cook.”

“Mia had a way of making us do as she instructed, and forcing us to remember everything.”

“Force you?”

“You’ve only seen the nice part of her,” he chuckled.

They worked in relative silence, covering one pan before being handed an empty one. The smell of cooked apples filled the room, making Kilastra’s mouth water and stomach growl. It didn’t take long for them to finish, and her hunger was making her impatient at this point.

“What now?”

“We wait. It’ll take a couple hours of baking, but when they’re finished you’ll likely eat the all.”

“Or you will.”

“That’s a very real possibility.” He did a finger into what was left of the cinnamon-sugar mix. “Care for a taste?”

She took his finger into her mouth, teasing him with a moan as she cleaned his finger of the sweet mess.

“Not here. This is a kitchen, not a bedroom!” The head-cook smacked them with a wet rag. “Out, out! Both of you!”

Laughter filled the kitchen as Cullen and Kilastra made a quick exit out of the kitchen.


End file.
